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The Guild of Calamitous Intent
The Guild of Calamitous Intent is a fictional guild and organization of supervillains in the Adult Swim program The Venture Bros. Organization The Guild is an overbearing and major organization of villains in the Venture Bros. universe, its members including nearly every supervillain and otherwise major criminal presumably active. The members pay dues and submit themselves to certain regulations outlined in the Guild of Calamitous Intent Handbook in return for protection from the law and other benefits, such as health and dental care. The Guild is known for having almost complete immunity from the police, as they supply the police with new weapons and equipment. The Guild has certain members working directly for the top leadership, particularly in terms of espionage; they are known as strangers, who receive their orders from two cyborgs monitoring all Guild activities (though not yet stated in the show, Jackson Publick has said the monitors are named Watch and Ward). These monitors in turn appear to receive their orders from an individual refered to as Sovereign, who has thus far only appeared as a distorted face on a computer screen. Some costumed supervillains also work as operatives of the Guild, such as Tiny Eagle, who intercepted a message The Monarch tried to send out while in jail. Brock Samson has stated the Guild's methods are accurate and precise enough that they're the only organization he still respects. Activities in the show The Guild was first mentioned in passing by the Monarch in "Home Insecurity" when he and Baron Ünderbheit had turned a dispute into a good time and wanted to have a villainous team-up, but would have to ask the Guild to allow it for regulation purposes (which they passed on doing anyway). Another mention was in "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean" when the Monarch wasn't even listed amongst its members in a Guild handbook, claiming he only joined it for the health care plan. The Guild's activities came to the forefront in "The Trial of the Monarch". It was revealed that Phantom Limb holds a high-ranking position in the Guild, and was overseeing an operation to capture the #3 individual on the Guild's Most Wanted list, Tiny Attorney, who was acting as prosecutor in the titular trial and had a successful record of prosecuting supervillains. The entirety of the episode's events, including the disappearance of a police officer and framing of the Monarch for the crime, are revealed to be orchestrated by the Guild in service of this goal (though it seems likely the selection of the Monarch as the operation's fall guy was made by Phantom Limb himself so that he could continue to pursue a relationship with Dr. Girlfriend free of interference). The Guild caught wind of the Monarch's plot to orchestrate a prison break in "Powerless in the Face of Death" and Phantom Limb either bribed or forced members of Monarch's crew to abandon the scheme (while Phantom Limb did so in his capacity as a Guild operative, it seems likely his personal animosity towards the Monarch was a strong motivator). Ultimately, King Gorilla decided to aid in the Monarch's escape so as not to stand in the way of the Monarch's pursuit of his true love, Dr. Girlfriend. In "Hate Floats" Phantom Limb states he could be killed by the Guild for revealing the location of their "Location B" headquarters while cooperating with Brock Samson. Trivia *The Guild, in having all major supervillains as members as well as those members paying dues and working together, is similar to the DC Comics supervillain team the Secret Society of Supervillains and the Legion of Doom from Superfriends. *The Guild apparently also acts as a distributor of nemeses. Dr. Orpheus has filed petitions with the guild for a costumed nemesis, something he has coveted since the events of "Tag Sale -- You're It!". *The outfits and the names of the Guild's field operatives (fur-lined trenchcoats with fedoras, called "Strangers") may be inspired by the villians of the same name in the movie Dark City. *The Guild has been around for at least 30 years, and apparently had dealings with Dr. Jonas Venture Sr. in the past. According to the Monarch, Rusty's Law, an addendum to their charter, was named for Dr. Thaddeus Venture. *In his LiveJournal, Jackson Publick has stated that the arguments between the cyborg monitors in the Guild's control room are taken verbatim from arguments between himself and Doc Hammer at Astrobase Go! Headquarters. Guild of Calamitous Intent, The Guild of Calamitous Intent, The